Beautiful
by Lady BlueFeather
Summary: AU: It was not love at first sight nor crush at first glance. He is a handsome and popular guy in campus while she's just a weird and plain girl. She's too bizarre and he hated girls that he can't decipher, so she's not worth his time at all. Definitely not. Or so he thought… GraLu. T for Language.
1. It Started With the Wrong Foot

**Author's Note:** So this is my first GraLu fic. This just came out of the blue and I don't know, I just thought that I had to write this. The characters here are definitely OOC so I'm just warning ahead of time. I'm trying so hard to stick to their characters but there are just some things that I need to alter with their personality or I wouldn't have any story to write. So with that, I hope I can justify the OOC-ness of the characters. This is rated T because of language. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any characters of Fairy Tail that you might read in this story.

* * *

**Chapter One**

**It Started With the Wrong Foot**

* * *

It was not love at first sight. No, he actually _disliked_ the girl. He disliked how she used to treat him like he was nothing but a normal teenager boy with normal looks, normal body, and no charisma. He was disturbed of the thought that she seemed to find him normal and actually admitted that he's _boring_ to be with. Boring? Well, for one, a lot of girls would do everything just to trade places with her right now. He's not dense and oblivious and he knows what the looks of other girls mean: They want him. He has a lot of fan girls waiting for him outside the class or even at the lockers or even outside his own house. He has a lot of date calls and letters and chocolates every Valentine's Day. And now, she tells him he's boring to be with?

So, since he's boring, the most sensible thing that he could do is to just stand up right now and leave her to rot away for all he care. But he didn't. Instead, he just sat there, staring at the park in front of him, feeling contented at the weight on his right shoulder and the smell of a strawberry-flavored shampoo lingering in his nose. Then, he felt a slight tug on his right hand and realized that somehow in the middle of his thoughts, her hand had already clasped his own, sending a rush of heat on his cheeks.

He gently shifted his position to look at her face. He breathed out softly as he took in everything he saw – her chocolate brown eyes hidden behind those lids, her long lashes adorning it, almost touching her smooth and somehow pink cheeks, her slightly open pink lips, all of them contributing to the lovely face of the girl sleeping comfortably on his shoulders. He mused at how lovely and angelic she looked right now which is contrary to what he believed when he first met her. The first time he met her, he thought of her as a demon inside an angel's body. A monster.

For a while, he chuckled at the thought causing a slight movement that made the girl on his shoulders groan in irritation with still-closed eyes. Another chuckle came out of him but this time he made sure that he minimized the movement. He suddenly felt her shift into a more comfortable position until she was like totally depending on him for support. One move and she would be out of balance, he thought. It didn't annoy him though. Actually, he wants her to be like that – to depend on him, to be her strength, to be someone she could always turn to. She's a very independent and brave girl and he loves her for that, but sometimes, he just wants to prove to her that not all the time, she could act all tough and brave. That there would be times in one's life when she needs to learn to seek strength from others and that it's okay to be weak sometimes.

Because everyone is vulnerable. Everyone is fragile. And she is not an exception.

* * *

"Dammit, Natsu! Just tell them I won't be coming! What's so hard in that?" Gray Fullbuster hissed on his phone as he turned to the table filled with laughing girls and boys his age. One of the girls turned his way and gave him a look accompanied with a smile that tells him she's waiting. His pissed off expression turned into an apologetic and charismatic grin before he turned her back on her and pulled back the mad expression he had a while ago. "If only you told me earlier!"

_"But it was so sudden and I don't know it beforehand, too!"_ the voice on the other end of the line said, his pitch a little higher than the usual. _"Stop whining and deal with this. Or we'll be both dead."_

"You blockhead, I told you–"

_"As much as I want to argue with you right now, I really can't. So just get your annoying ass back here or my dad will kill me."_

"I really wish he will," Gray muttered darkly. Before he could speak further, he heard Natsu said something like 'Your mom is already fuming, Droopy Eyes!' before the end of the other line went dead. "Dumbass!" he cursed as he clutched his mobile phone tight and placed it back on his pocket. _That airhead really knows the right buttons to push_, the raven haired thought as he let out a heavy and exasperated breath before turning to the table with a fake smile on his face.

"Finally! Gray, come sit here," the girl from before grinned at her and patted the vacant seat beside her, looking all flustered and excited.

Gray caught a glimpse of her long tanned legs since she was wearing a skirt that's shorter than what her father might approve of and fought the urge to really take the offer. So he looked on her face instead and then showed his practiced charming apologetic smile and said, "I'm sorry, I have something to attend to. As much as I want to stay here guys, I really have to go."

"Aww!" The girl pouted and Gray thought of grabbing the girl and bring her home, lock her in his closet and get back to her later when he's done dealing with the business problems his stepdad is shoving on his face. The other girls pouted, too, and exclaimed their disappointments but Gray wouldn't even bother.

"That sucks, man," one of the boys said and he just dramatically scratched the back of his head still wearing that apologetic smile.

"I'm off then," Gray said and saluted to all of them, then turned around.

"Will you call me?"

Gray turned around to see the hopeful look of the girl that's supposed to be his partner in the mixer and again the thought of bringing her home crossed his mind for the second time. "Of course," he replied and stalked off. He was already out of the restaurant when he realized he didn't have the girl's number but he just shrugged it off. She would definitely be a waste but then there are a lot of girls surrounding him so it would just only take a wink to replace her. Or even find a better one. He smirked at the thought of how easily he can control them and turn them into a lump of nose bleeding girls just by the sight of him half-naked. They are predictable after all, and it's not his fault they come to him. They just did.

Now, to the reason that he had skipped the mixer is because of the flamehead's call about his father looking for him. He's still studying and three years away from graduation in college but he's already his stepfather's assistant in their business. He normally doesn't mind at all, but then, he had long planned this event. Besides, the one he's going to face right now is the Locksers who are truthfully a pain in his well-built ass. The chief executive and owner himself is fine but his daughter is the one he's concerned about, _who_ actually likes him. Well, in all fairness to the girl, she's not ugly or hideous or something of that sort, actually she's pretty. But she just gives him the creeps. Because she doesn't like him. She's downright _obsessed_ with him, that girl, and it's freaking the hell out of him. _The way she stares at me, ugh!_, Gray thought as he rubbed his arms at the thought of her, and it's summer, mind you.

So back to his stepdad. Well, he is Natsu's real father. His biological father is already dead, leaving his mom with two kids: him and Lyon, who by the way, is not a Fullbuster. He's a Bastia, and he's currently working at Shirotsume and basically living on his own. Natsu's dad had a bad marriage with Natsu's mother and that resulted to a divorce and by twist of fate as what his mom would always say, she and Natsu's dad met and they got married and they are happy and – again, his mom's favorite line – _they are in love_. So simply put, he and the dolt that goes by the name of Natsu is basically step siblings and is living together under the same roof for already six years now. He's still carrying his father's surname and Natsu's dad didn't seem to be a bit bothered about it. Lucky for him, he didn't have the same stupid situation of being hated by the stepparent just because he's not his or her own flesh and blood. They go along just well and if Gray would be asked, he'd actually prefer to be with Natsu's dad than Natsu himself. Igneel is a lot more sensible to talk to than his idiotic son.

Gray then went back to his dilemma of going to the company and trying to deal with the Locksers. Igneel knew about the situation of that Lockser's daughter and shrewdly (though Gray kinda admit that he can be cruel sometimes that at times he really felt pity for Natsu) Igneel uses Gray more than ever to be the negotiator between their company and the Lockser's seeing that the latter is a very important client and investor of their company. He had confirmed that one day when he suddenly barged in Igneel's office with a pile of documents in hand and heard him say over the phone (Gray's sure it was her mom on the other end of the line) 'Yup, he made Lockser agree. See? No harm done.'

Remembering the details, Gray huffed as he boarded a bullet train towards the company just in the heart of Magnolia City. His mother would strangle him if he didn't go there fast and he could already imagine her reprimanding him again for not bringing his car with him. Not that he doesn't know how to drive, he just doesn't feel like bringing it at that time. Just because..

As he settled on a seat at the far end of the train, he felt a vibration somewhere near his thigh and realized his phone is ringing. _It better be not that dolt again or I might scream at his ear this time,_ Gray thought as he fished his phone from his pocket. However, he took back what he said earlier when he saw his mother's name registered on the screen. _Oh heck no, I'd rather talk with Natsu right now._ "Mom?" he asked after pushing the Accept button.

"_WHERE ARE YOU?!"_

Gray flinched violently at his mother's outburst in the phone and felt suspicious eyes staring at him. Trying to ignore these odd and curious looks, he continued, "I'm on my way, mom. You don't have to damage my eardrums," he scowled.

"Well, you better hurry up, young man, or your eardrums would not be the only thing that would be damaged!"

Even though he couldn't see his own face, Gray knew he paled at his mother's threat. Exaggerating as it is, Gray knew better than to think his mom's threat as an empty one. No, she definitely mean it. "O-Okay, okay!" Heck, the great Gray Fullbuster just stuttered. He heard the other end of the line went dead and he felt anxiety starts to build within him. God, how can his mother be so darn sweet hopeless romantic and scary-as-hell-like-he's-about-to-pee-on-his-pants at the same time?

He felt the train stop but he didn't noticed the new passengers that are filing in the train since he was busy blaming his grandparents for creating such an extremist daughter who is his mother right now. Nor did he notice a half-conscious and wobbling blonde sit beside him until she rested her blonde head on his right shoulder. He was surprised by it, making him snap out of his thoughts and instantly irritated. "Hey, woman, watch it!"

The blonde slowly raised her head to look at him with half-lidded eyes, "What? I'm just sleeping here," she said lazily.

"Sleeping?! On _my_ shoulder? Miss, I don't even know you!" he shrieked, finally snapping probably because of his anxiety. "How would I know you wouldn't rob me?" Now, Gray wouldn't be as rude as this, but having an almost heart attack due to his mother's demands made him a little rude than what he actually is.

The blonde looked offended by this and she rose up from her seat and walked away from the red Gray and headed towards the front. Everyone's eyes are on him and he almost wished there's a hole somewhere to crawl in to. _Damn that stupid blonde!_, he thought and swore to himself not to date any blonde girl even if she's the cutest one he ever laid his eyes on.

He broke his promise two months later, however, when he encountered the very same blonde that made him swear to himself that he wouldn't fall for a blonde girl like her.

* * *

_Two months later.._

A dark-haired boy in his twenty's looked at his corrected testpaper with a pair of knitted brows. There was an A mark on the upper right hand corner of his paper and he was wondering why didn't he get an A+. Where the heck did he got wrong? And he thought he was perfect in the exam. Gray Fullbuster scanned through his papers and finally saw his mistake. Darn carelessness.

_Oh well, at least I didn't get an F unlike the unfortunate person beside me,_ he smirked when he caught a glimpse of the paper the pink-haired boy beside him was holding. He heard his long time friend click his tongue while scanning through his papers that he let out a 'What a shame' that the rosy-haired boy glared at him. "This is your fault," he said.

Gray looked at the very unfortunate person he's talking about. "What? What did I do, Flame Brain?"

"Well, smartass, if you did not barge in my room two days before the exam and played that shitty videogame of yours, I would have passed the exam!" Natsu Dragneel said, his squinty eyes narrowing into slits but even so, Gray still find it annoyingly squinty.

"It's not my fault, you dumbass. If you want to review, you have to be firm with your words and review," Gray said leaning back on his chair lazily, unconsciously unbuttoning two buttons of his polo, and of course, completely unaware of the squeals of his ogling fan girls just a few chairs away from them.

"The hell with your lecturing. I've always told you that there shouldn't be any distractions before and during exam week but _you_ brought the distraction and now I'm in a very deep shit," Natsu mourned while looking at the very fat F scrawled on the upper right hand corner of his paper. "How am I going to explain this to my pops?"

"Tell him you played the _shitty_ videogame all night long without reviewing," Gray suggested.

"Fuck off," Gray heard Natsu muttered just as the doors flew open and their paling professor went out of the room saying he has to attend to 'some things'.

"What's this exchange of foul languages, gentlemen?"

They both glanced up to see Loke in front of Gray, looking back at them with his purple sunglasses perched on top of his nose. Gray was always wondering about the reason why the hell Loke loves to wear that particular pair of sunglasses. He tried to put it on one time just to piss him off, but he felt like a total idiot himself so he dismissed the thought and left the cursed sunglasses alone.

"Shut that womanizer mouth of yours, Loke," Natsu snapped. He really is in a bad mood. Gray gleefully clapped inwardly for Natsu's sour mood. That's what he get for embarrassing him one time with his date just for the hell of it. That darn pink-haired dolt. Does he think he had forgotten all about it? No, for the love of their university's founder Mavis, he can't forget the day that his fan-base has declined, thanks to the said dolt. It's still not his fault, so he mustn't get all mushy and guilty because he wouldn't get low grades if he had just studied instead.

"Foul language and foul mood, not the kind of combination any girl would like," Loke said shaking his brown head. Natsu muttered an 'I don't care' at this and proceeded at looking at his papers, then snatched the paper of the girl beside him and compared the right answers to his, completely oblivious of the blush that spread across the girl's cheeks. Really, this guy is not only a dolt, but a dense dolt at that, Gray thought shaking his head.

For years, Gray knew that he had this appeal that girls get crazy over with. He knew he's not dense unlike the very same unfortunate person beside him and he takes pride in that. It was Loke who was always on the go with him when it comes to girls and it was Natsu who's always the inexperienced one. They had tried one time giving him a 'gift' on his birthday but it hadn't ended too well. The girl wearing a two-piece bikini that they had put in a giant cake made of board had just gone as far as touching Natsu's chest before giving up and lost her face to everyone when Natsu blatantly blurted out that he was so disappointed that the giant cake was not real, without even noticing the girl who was trying to get his attention by massaging his biceps. So much for being a 'helpful friend and step-brother'. And he and Loke cost them a fortune for that birthday party, too. The poor guy is just too hopeless.

He sighed and turned to look at his left; at the window. He was surprised (but not really, he's used to this, remember?) to see a group of girls looking at him three floors below. There was that blue-haired girl again. He knew her and her gang since he had always seen her ogling at him. He remembered how one time he had purposely helped the other blue-haired get the book and smiled his winning smile. Nah, just for fun. He knew they would then be talking behind his back and squeal at how he had reached the book for her and smiled or how he had winked at the white haired girl beside the blue-haired one. He knew also that among them, it was the other blue-haired, whom he hasn't had any 'encounter' with, who had a _huge_ crush on him. Anyone with eyes can see that. But it was not their presence that surprised him though. It was the presence of the somehow indifferent and familiar blonde who was also squinting at his direction (but he thinks she doesn't know where to look) with a pair of purple headphones plugged in her ear. He always sees her with them in normal occasions but rarely in this stalker-ish ones. Actually, it was the first time he had seen her with them while stalking him. It kinda felt strange but he's feeling smug nevertheless. His fan-base is increasing.

"Who are those?"

He turned in time for Natsu to lean his face towards him to look at the window, which made them almost kiss each other. "You gay, get away from me!" Gray yelled at the equally disgusted male and made a face.

"Smooch smooch," Loke teased as he puckered his lips and closed his eyes which Gray found to be more horribly revolting that he kicked Loke's chair forcefully earning an irritated 'Hey!' from the guy.

"Hmm.." Natsu was still looking at the window with brows furrowed before he asked, "Aren't those your fangirls, Gray?"

"Of course," he replied smugly, still trying to remember from where had he seen the blonde aside from being around those three loyal fan girls.

"But who's that blonde chick? It's the first time I've seen her, though she's not an unfamiliar face," Natsu muttered still peering below. "I know I have seen her before, but where and when was it…?"

"Oh? And she's one hot chick, dude, she's pretty cute. Waaaay too cute to be your stalker," Loke hooted as he, too, looked below.

Gray smirked and watched as all three of them (with a blush on their cheeks, he noted) hurried to get out of the scene, maybe realizing that they have been seen. The blonde, however, was rooted on the spot with her arms crossed over her ample chest before the white haired pulled her away. "I have a lot of cute fangirls, so you don't have to be surprised about it," he said.

"She looks irritated and bored though, do you think she's really your fangirl?" Loke asked doubting. "And she didn't even blush! She's definitely not one of your fangirls, Gray, I swear, she had just been dragged."

"I don't care," Gray said turning back to the blackboard. He has a lot of those cute girls ogling at him anyway, so why care for just _one_ girl?

"Ah, I remember!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed.

"What do you remember?"

"I knew it, I knew her, that blonde chick!" Natsu grinned, "She's in my class in Advanced Mathematics that time! What was her name again? L.. Lu.. Sounds like.. hmm.. Ah right, Luigi! It's Luigi!"

Gray and Loke both deadpanned. "Idiot. Luigi is a guy's name, Pinky."

"Whatever, she's Luigi," Natsu said. "Hm, strange, I never knew she had girl friends such as those."

Loke seems interested, "Hehhh, what do you mean?"

"I thought she was more on the tough side," Natsu said, his forehead creasing.

"Do you mean, like Erza-tough type?"

"No, a little less than Erza, I think."

"Hmm, she doesn't look like it though," Loke said. Gray could already see his mind running. Sometimes, he already knew what that guy's thinking. "I mean she's the kind of wimpy type of girl even though she's the only one who's not ogling at Gray."

Natsu clicked his tongue, "If I were you, I wouldn't be deceived by her looks."

That was when Gray decided to butt in after seeing that Natsu had temporarily forgotten his problem with his exam. "What do you know? You're a dense dimwit after all," he smirked.

"What, picking a fight with me, exhibitionist?" Natsu glared referring to Gray's strange habit of stripping unconsciously.

"Who are you calling exhibitionist, moron?" Gray retorted. And as he said this, Natsu smirked and when he looked around, he saw that all girls are blushing and are looking at him. Some had even blood running down from their nose by just looking at the raven haired guy. He looked down and his eyes almost fell out of his sockets at seeing his bare chest (with only his necktie left), his polo, thrown on the floor.

Just as he screeched an 'eep' and Natsu and Loke both laughed their asses off, the door swung open, revealing their now-cured-and-seemed-to-be-up-and-about-in-seconds professor. His eyes went as large as saucers when he saw Gray half-naked (not that it's the first time he had seen him stripped though) and shrieked, "Fullbuster, you better put your polo back on or I'll make sure you lose your pants, too, and walk around the campus COMPLETELY NAKED!"

At that said, all the girls in class started to nosebleed massively and some had even passed out on the floor. Gray hastily grabbed his polo and buttoned it back all the while thinking, _Well, at least this is what makes me popular._

* * *

_Oh heck, I could feel it coming,_ Gray thought to himself as he felt a familiar and unpleasant feeling on the back of his neck. _It's going to be a stiff neck, dammit_.

Now, he's waiting for Natsu and Loke to emerge from the bathroom as he leaned against a wall. At first, he's pissed at how her friends always take their sweet time in a public restroom as if they're some sissy girls, especially that vain-head Loke.

"Loke, you dumbass!"

Gray heard Natsu's voice getting louder and he sighed, _Finally_. As the two emerged still on a heated discussion about something he doesn't care and wouldn't dare to, Gray followed them, walking beside Natsu.

"What? I definitely believe that yours is much smaller than mine," Loke said.

Natsu squealed like a school girl, already red in the face. "Stop it, you stupid pervert!"

Gray grimaced at what he's hearing since he definitely knew what the two idiots are talking about. But he decided to remain silent as he felt his neck starting to feel a little awkward and painful. Besides, he doesn't want to engage in such shitty perverted discussion about who's longer.

When they were almost at the gate of the campus, Gray noticed that the exit is a little deserted save for the couple of girls sitting on the benches near the gate. He suddenly felt a bearable yet disturbing stab of pain on his head that he frowned unconsciously.

"Oi, are you okay?" He heard Natsu beside him nudge him by the elbow.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Oh, hey, look, it's your fan girls again, Gray," Loke said.

He did not respond however, but he just looked at the direction where their heads are turned to, just 20 degrees Northeast, and a wrinkle creased his forehead when he saw a bunch of girls looking back at them and recognized the blue-haired stalker girl and her gang. The blonde was also there, too, he noticed. "Hey, let's just get a move," he urged, after he gave them a wave and what he believed was a dazzling smile. Natsu just shrugged and Loke winked at them. When they were not looking, and the other girls are busy squealing for the attention, that was then that Gray saw that one of the girls, the blonde one, smirked at them smugly as if she had seen something so pathetic. Tch, smug blondie, he thought wryly. He did not mind to hide the contempt in his face when he saw this, so without his knowing, he also somehow pissed the same blonde girl.

Gray was busy thinking of going home because of the coming headache and stiff neck that hhe failed to see the evil face of the blonde as she formed a plan, as well as the foot that was sticking out of the way, just for him. So when he passed by, he was surprised, when he suddenly tripped over something and before his mind could register everything, he found himself on the ground, flat on his face.

"Gray!"

"What the hell, dude!"

He all heard them call his name, along with the loud synchronized and dramatic gasp as he raised his head from the fall but what he heard the most was the horribly annoying guffaw just a foot on his right. Dramatically and in slow motion, he turned to face the only laughing girl who turned out to be that smug blondie (no surprise in that).

_Damn her!_, he seethed as he glowered at the still laughing girl, and in one swift motion (everyone almost see him as a blur), he grabbed her right arm and pulled her up, bringing her face just three inches closer to his. Tightening his grip on her, Gray looked at the blonde straight in her caramel eyes and smirked earning a very murderous glare from her as a warning. Piercing chocolate brown eyes meet smug charcoal ones. He knew just how to get back at her.

Then without another word, he lowered his head down and smashed his lips against hers so suddenly that he felt the girl stiffened against his lips. Before she could recover and slap him on the face, Gray pulled back and watched as the blonde flushed a thousand shades of red because of anger and embarrassment. In that instant as he was victoriously watching her face, he remembered the event in the train two months ago: The swaying blonde resting her blonde head on his shoulders and the blonde he had scolded and called a robber. This blonde in front of him was exactly the same blonde he had encountered two months ago.

Before he could say anything however, he felt her shift position and suddenly kneed his precious thing between his legs. He howled in pain and jumped up and down. He heard gasps some more and a loud laughing somewhere behind him, but he was sure it was not the blonde since she was still glaring at his crouching figure.

"Serves you right, you bastard."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Any errors? Constructive criticisms and feedbacks are very much highly appreciated! And I kinda need a beta now, since, I admit I'm not really good at constructing sentences. English is my second language, so please understand. :))

-Blue


	2. Closing In the Distance

**Author's Note:** I told you, I'm a slow updater. Anyway, thank you so much for all the lovely reviews I received and for putting this story up to your favorite list. Thank you! And special thanks to my wonderful beta, **thebeautywithin13.** She did a great job helping me patch up the holes in this chapter.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any characters of Fairy Tail that you might read in this story.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

**Closing In the Distance**

* * *

"Ahhh, this is just what I needed."

A young female ice cream vendor looked at the strange blonde girl in front of her. She raised her eyebrows as the blonde looked longingly at the different flavors all the while hungrily licking her own chocolate flavored one.

It was the next day after Lucy's encounter with the raven-haired bastard, she was still furious that the cocky jerk had kissed her, but in return for that kiss he received a good ol' kick to where the sun don't shine. Although, when Lucy received her ice cream she forgot all about her anger towards the man. Well, for now that is.

"Look at all these different flavors! You are one lucky girl, yes you are." Said the blonde, which made the vendor raise her brows higher than before.

"How are you not drooling with all these flavors staring right at you? I mean if I were in your place, I would probably have eaten everything before you could even say the word 'ice cream'," said the hyper Lucy. "I love ice cream! Don't you love ice cream?"

"Uhh.. a little?" she reluctantly answered while thinking if this girl's sanity was still intact. The vendor was trying to concentrate on counting the blonde's change, so that she could evaporate from her stand as soon as possible.

Lucy had another round of unlady like lick to her ice cream. "Good, because ice cream is the best!"

"I guess." The vendor offered a reluctant smile as she finally finished counting. "Here's your change!" She said as enthusiastic as ever thinking that finally she could get rid of the weird blonde. Hopefully the girl wouldn't continue chatting with her any further. For her work and for her sanity's sake.

"Thank you!" the blonde said cheerfully without any indication that she felt the awkwardness surrounding the two of them. As soon as she walked away from the stand with her sunny smile, the vendor felt a pang of guilt. 'She was so nice to me even though I was thinking of how strange she is.'

Lucy was so focused on eating her delicious treat that she did not notice the weird looks she was receiving for licking the ice cream so strangely.

_Whoever invented ice cream was one hell of a genius!_, Lucy thought to herself. Even though today might not have been the best day for her, this ice cream cone made everything fall back into place. Ahhh, true bliss.

Lucy's happy mood soon took a small toll as she remembered that the rent for her apartment was due next week. She couldn't ask for another extension, because she already asked for one the last time. If she can't pay her difficult landlord next week, she would be doomed to live on the streets for the rest of her life.

Lucy doesn't have all that much money, so it's a good thing that her scholarship is the one that pays for her tuition fees. She really needs to work her ass off to pay for everything else, but for now she would forget all her problems and just focus on her treat.

The blonde was so absorbed in her own thoughts, that she didn't notice a man hurrying down the street. The man bumped her on the shoulder. She was thrown backwards by the impact and her ice cream fell on the ground.

"Next time watch where you're going, stupid blonde!" the man hissed, not even sparing a glance at her or at the delicious piece of heaven that was now crushed on the pavement.

'There goes the last amount of money I had for luxury!' She thought as she sadly glanced at the puddle, which looked as if it was crying out to her for help. Then, she turned angrily towards the man, "Who the hell are you calling stupid you...you...STUPID IDIOT?! And just because I'm blonde, it doesn't mean I'm stupid!" The said man however, seemed to have already forgotten about her and was already a far distance away.

Lucy then caught a faraway glimpse at the man's shirtless figure and raven hair. That's when it hit her, that man was the same cocky bastard that kissed her yesterday! This made her become even angrier, so she shouted towards where he ran off, "Come back here and face me you son-of-a-bitch!"

With her ice cream long forgotten, she stood up and brushed the invisible dirt off her clothes. That's when she felt eyes burning into her back. The fuming blonde turned around and saw the civilians giving her dirty looks because of her shameful act. She gave them all a piercing stare and said, "Is there a problem? What hell are you staring at?" When the people averted their gazes from her, she gave them one last challenging stare while muttering something that sounded like "stupid nosy people" then she stalked off on her own.

Lucy wouldn't have been _this_ pissed off about what happened, if not for that raven-haired stupid jerk she had encountered again. All her angry returned when she remembered that he was also the stupid guy from the train two months ago. How dare he shout at her like that in front of all those people! If she wasn't so tired and groggy that time, she would've kicked his balls so hard that he would not pollute the next generation with his offspring that would most probably inherit his infuriating rudeness.

And now this time—_this time, dammit!_—he just embarrassed her once again in front of so many people. And to think that this dork goes to the same university as her. It still boggles her mind that he is the guy all the girls drool over. _What the freaking hell!,_ Lucy thought as she scratched her head violently, earning another round of dirty looks from the people around. Some of the mothers pull their children closer to them, afraid that the girl is a wanted criminal or an escaped patient from one of their city's mental ward.

Oh, and let us not forget about the kiss he gave her yesterday. The thought still makes her want to gag.

Even though she might not be the hopeless romantic type she's still a girl. She valued every kiss and every person she gave them to. However, that monster had just stolen one and trampled on her dignity as a girl. "I'll definitely kill that guy."

* * *

Somewhere in Magnolia, a raven-haired man jerked his head violently as a sneeze came out of him.

"What? Caught a cold, Droopy Eyes?"

Gray looked up to see a pink headed man enter his room. The annoying man was grinning at him with mischievous eyes.

"I'm not frail like you, Squinty Eyes," he replied.

The extremely handsome young man had just arrived home from an errand his mother had sent him on. He was currently trying to relax from his stressful day, but his stupid step-brother just had to ruin his time being alone.

Gray was already having a terrible day and Natsu was making it worse. Today, he was sent on a difficult errand for his demanding mother. When he realized he was running late on his errand he ran back home, not wanting to deal with his mother's wrath. While hurrying home he bumped into a stupid blonde girl that was daydreaming in the middle of the street. The girl did look awfully familiar, but he doesn't remember where from. Anyways, the girl made him arrive late and that resulted in a scolding from his mother. Tch, pathetic.

Natsu chuckled as he grabbed his PSP and plopped down on the red bean bag beside his bed. "Frail, eh? Between the two of us, who is the one that just received a blow from a girl?"

The raven-haired teen groaned at this. Given a chance, Natsu would mock him for every damned misfortune that would happen to him, and the fiasco that happened in school is probably the greatest shit that Gray would call a disaster but Natsu would call a chance.

It's a good thing Natsu doesn't know about the incident that occurred today. He would never let Gray live it down.

"Does poor _Gway_ need something for his boo-boo? Somewhere down here?" Natsu mocked and pointed down towards his family jewels, which made Gray turn a bright shade of red.

Seeing his step-brother's red face, Natsu roared with laughter. It was just priceless.

"Do you want me to punch your face in, _dork_?" Gray hissed.

"If a _girl_ can beat you, do you really think you can beat up a tough guy like _me_?"

"Fuck off. Get out of my room!"

Another round of boisterous laughter. Gray wanted nothing more than to grab something really heavy and throw it at this annoying pest. He was beaten by a girl in front of almost everybody on campus, and his stupid step-brother tortures him again and again by reminding him that he was kicked down below.. Hard.

How fucked up can his life get?

"I told you she's fierce!" Natsu said still half-recovering from his laughter.

"So?" Gray cocked an eyebrow.

Natsu still with a big grin on his face and clearly pleased with himself, turned back to his PSP. "So, you shouldn't have taunted her like that," he said simply.

"What do you mean by taunted?" Gray was becoming curious because of this.

"Don't you see? It's like she's already irritated at you from the very start," Natsu shrugged.

Gray wouldn't normally care what his step-brother would say, but this time it was as if Natsu was unusually knowledgeable about that blonde's attitude. Not that he's interested or anything. Tch. If anything, he's interested on finding out a way to get back at her.

He watched Natsu concentrate on his game; he had his tongue sticking out as his forehead creased. What a doofus.

If what Natsu said about the blonde already being irritated at him was true, he had a strong feeling that it has something to do with what happened two months ago on the train.

So she remembered, huh?

"How can you say she's irritated at me before I could even approach her?" Gray asked Natsu leaning forward from the headboard on his bed. He gave the 'pinky' a challenging stare.

It took a while for him to reply because he was trying to beat the highest level of his game. When his character died, he groaned and looked back at Gray. Natsu had an air of certainty around him when he answered, "Can't you see it, dude? It was as if she's going to kill you with her stare."

"Huh? Well, maybe she's just irritated because she likes me, and she knows that she can't get me so it makes her bitter causing her to hate me instead," Gray said leaning back on his bed with a cocky smirk.

"I don't think so, dude. You're not as good looking as you think," Natsu shook his head as he leaned back on the bean bag and tried playing the same level again. "Besides, Luigi's not that rude."

"You know her that much?" Gray asked surprised.

"She's actually nice you know, and she's really smart," Natsu said, his gaze never leaving his game. "She helped me with one of my quizzes last year. Gave me some answers."

Gray's jaw dropped at that instant. How can that..Amazon of a woman help Natsu? Or is Natsu just pulling his leg? He studied Natsu a little more closely, failed to get any hint that he's pulling a prank at him. What would he get from it anyway?

"Oh yeah, I won! In your face, stupid game!" Natsu screeched happily which made Gray roll his eyes.

Natsu put aside his game and continued on, "Anyways, that's why I was kind of shocked at the way she acted towards you. She doesn't seem like the type of person to hate someone with murderous intent," Natsu then smirked at Gray. "Not that I'm complaining though. That was a really brilliant stunt she pulled."

"Damn you, Pinky," he hissed, glaring daggers at Natsu who threw back his head and laughed.

Putting aside the incident from two months ago, and if his step-brother was indeed saying the truth, then how come Natsu gets the nice treatment from her and not him? It was as if Natsu is acting like she is a saint or a goddess of some sort.

It's not that he wants the nice treatment from her or anything but, right now Natsu seems better than him. Maybe she likes the dork? Tch, impossible. Between the two of them, he Gray Fullbuster, is the more like-able one.

As if reading Gray's thoughts Natsu answered, "Maybe she has this cool power that makes her sort the nice guys from pervert ones?"

"So you're a nice guy now?"

"Compared to you? Of course!"

"Ha! Even if you are the nice guy - which you aren't - I'm still smarter. You can't even get a decent C in your exam!"

"Keep it low, Gray!" he hissed.

Feeling triumphant at finally getting back at him, Gray grinned at him smugly. "IF I WERE YOU NATSU, I WOULD STUDY HARDER TO PASS–"

"I said stop it, dammit!" Natsu growled as Gray purposely boomed out Natsu secret knowing that his father has already arrived.

"Then leave my room," Gray ordered crossing one of his legs over the other.

"Tch," Natsu muttered as he grudgingly stood up from where he was sitting and walked to the door. His eyes narrowed into slits as he stared at the smug-looking Gray. Then he grinned mischievously, "You're still the one that got beaten by a girl."

That wiped the smug look off Gray's face. As payback he shouted at the top of his lungs "NATSU DRAGNEEL GOT A—"

Natsu hurriedly grabbed the door knob and got away from Gray's room, running at full speed until he reached his room. He opened his door and slammed it shut. He was pissed at how Gray took advantage of his flunk on their last exam. Natsu shuddered at the thought of his father finding out about his fail. If he ever found out...he'd rather not go to that.

Speaking about his bad grades, there is something he could do after all. He fished out his mobile phone from his pocket and dialed a number. Maybe he did need her help again.

* * *

Lucy pulled open her fridge and peered into it, looking for something decent to eat. The ice cream had been a waste and besides, it wouldn't satisfy her hunger. She sighed as she saw a half-loaf of bread and a nearly empty jar of strawberry jam sitting in the middle of her small fridge. Well, this is better than nothing, she thought as she took out the items and placed them on her table. Then she walked over to the counter, picked up the coffee-maker, and poured hot coffee into her favorite mug.

_Dinner is served_, she thought to herself and settled on one of the stools at the small table. At least she had a peaceful life. Another sigh escaped her lips as she took a bite from her sandwich. She chewed on it slowly as if savoring every bit of it.

Her eyes moved to the calendar that hung few feet away from the table. It has a lot of post-its on it and every single one contained the things she needed to do for the day. Her chocolate eyes then traveled to the phone sitting silently beside her bed. She sadly wondered when the damn thing would ring.

Lucy had applied to almost every job offered in the newspaper, hoping that at least one of them might be the answer to her prayers. She needed a job as soon as possible. Very badly.

She would have attended a job interview today after class if not for the bad luck of literally bumping into that Gray again. Yes, unfortunately she knew his name, thanks to her classmates. If she was not so infuriated, she probably wouldn't have forgotten about the interview. Instead, she would've been skipping home with a smile on her face because she was hired. But no, he just had to ruin her life again. This was the fourth time that Gray has angered her.

Four times too many.

Why is she cursed to know the man who would, one way or the other, ruin her life? What had she done wrong!?

She stopped sulking when the phone began to ring. _Finally a job!_, she thought happily. Lucy pushed the stool and hurried to the phone. Picking it up with a sunny smile on her face she answered, "Hello?"

"Lucy?"

Lucy recognized that voice. It was her friend Levy. It was never a problem for her if Levy called and actually, she likes it since she considered the bluenettea best friend. But it was just so disappointing that it was not a job that called. "Levy, hi," she answered. At least Lucy had the decency not to let her disappointment seep through her voice.

"Finally, you're home. I was worried about you. Lisanna and Charrie also, they tried to call you a while ago," Levy said over the line. "Are you okay?'

"Oh," Lucy replied and felt a pang of guilt as she realized that her friends were worried about her. "I'm fine, Levy. I'm sorry, I was just out trying to cool my head off."

"Oh.. well, it's just.."

Lucy could hear the frustration in her friend's voice. "No need to worry Levy. I'm fine, really," she said then sighed, "I'm just broke.. and jobless."

"Ah, that was one of the two reasons I called you though!" Levy was suddenly excited.

"Huh?"

"Someone called me a while ago asking if you're available to be a tutor. He said he'd happily pay you double if you help him."

"Wow, really?!" Lucy exclaimed, grateful for asking Levy's help in searching for potential tutees since she is the Academic Committee Head of their school.

"Yes!"

Lucy felt exhilarated. She isn't jobless anymore! "Wait, you said 'he'?"

"Yup, he's a he," Levy replied. "And I guess he somehow knows you. Or you know him. He spoke as if you'd helped him from before. He sounds really confident that you can help him with his studies."

"Wow, that adds on a lot of pressure."

Levy chuckled on the other line. "C'mon Lucy you're smart, I know you can do it."

"I hope so. Wait, you said he knows me?"

"Oh yeah, but I'm not really sure though. You can just talk to him if you want."

"What?"

Levy nervously chuckled, "I kind of gave your phone number to him."

"Levy!"

"I know you're really big on the whole privacy thing and I'm sorry. But you said you badly needed a job and he wouldn't agree on my terms of me calling you instead and you call him back. He said I have to give your number or he'll pull back the offer."

Lucy sighed. "Levy, he said he needed this badly too. So he wouldn't pull it back. He's just threatening you."

"But I couldn't take chances, Lucy! Didn't you say you needed this job?"

A moment of silence. Lucy was touched at how Levy was very thoughtful of considering her well-being. "You're right Levy.. Thank you so much!"

Lucy could picture Levy winking on the other end of the line, "It's nothing girl. And if I were you, I would probably put the phone down, because he might be dialing your number right now."

"Really, Levy, thank you. So much."

"Do you want a job or not?"

"Okay, okay." Lucy chortled and proceeded hanging up the phone until she remembered, "Hey, Levy, what's his—" instead of hearing Levy's sweet voice, she heard the dial tone, "..name," she sighed as she pressed the end button.

After a moment her phone rang once again, she already knew who it was so she answered it on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Hiya."

Lucy frowned. Levy said that he knows her but she didn't recognized the voice, though it was actually kind of familiar. "Uhh...are you the one who called Levy?"

"Oh, I guess she told you already," the voice on the other end of the line sounded a little surprised. His voice was not as deep as an average man but, it was not girly either and Lucy wondered if he was just the same age as her. "Yep, I'm the one who called her. I'm Natsu by the way. We sat next to each other last year in Advanced Mathematics if you don't remember."

Now she remembered! No wonder the voice sounded so familiar. Actually, Lucy was a bit surprised that she didn't remember sooner. He was pretty hard to forget. Once, he was banging his pink head against his desk because he hadn't had a single answer right in his quiz sheet. Lucy took pity on him so, just that one time, she gave him answers.

"Oh yeah, I remember you." Even though she remembered him, Lucy couldn't remember his name. If Natsu didn't tell her she probably wouldn't have remembered. She had just nicknamed him 'Pinky' that time because of the pink bubblegum hair he had which made Lucy wonder if that was natural or just a dye.

"Good. So, do you accept the offer, Luigi?"

And she thought she was the only one who can forget names easily. She laughed, "Who are you calling Luigi?"

"Oh...um..." the voice on the other line sounded nervous. "You're not Luigi? Did I get the wrong number or something?

"You got the correct number but not the name. I'm Lucy, Natsu. Luigi is hardly a girl's name," she laughed again.

"Oh, really? This whole time I thought your name was Luigi," Natsu replied sheepishly.

Lucy giggled once again. "Actually, I didn't remember your name either. I just nicknamed you Pinky."

"..."

When Natsu didn't answer, Lucy pressed on. "Anyway, about the job you're offering? I'm in."

"Awesome!"

"Only if you pay me double like what you promised Levy."

"Not a problem," said Natsu.

"Great, it's a deal then."

"Deal."

"Meet me tomorrow at the library, three pm sharp. Wait, do you still have classes at three?"

Natsu pondered for a little then answered, "Nope, my last class tomorrow is 2:30 so I'm free."

"Okay, perfect.. so tomorrow, library, three pm sharp. Don't be late," said Lucy strictly but with a bit of amusement in her voice.

"I won't! Thanks again Luig- I mean Lucy," Natsu laughed nervously.

Lucy giggled as Natsu mistake and hung up the phone. After she hung up she shot a fist in the air and began to do a happy dance. She finally got a job.

Everything was falling right back into place.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Till then. :))

-Blue


End file.
